In a contest of "bad blood" opponents, the Ravenwood boys basketball (19-8,6-3) won the Battle of the Woods over the non-district rival Brentwood Bruins (11-9, 4-4) Friday night at home, 53-38.

"It was a good win for us," said Ravenwood head coach Patrick Whitlock. "Brentwood always brings out the best in us. We are happy to get a win and start getting a little bit closer to the postseason."

"I thought we did not do a good job of handling the basketball," said Brentwood head coach Troy Bond. "It is going to be hard to beat anybody scoring that kind of line (38 points). We just had one of those nights, and we have got to handle adversity better."

"It means a lot," said Ravenwood senior DJ Starr. "Coming into this big atmosphere and coming out with the win is an amazing feeling."

Before the game, Ravenwood honored the eight seniors on their team: Matthew Williams, Malcolm Hamilton, Cameron Pack, Lee Mollette, Andrew Lamuno, Regan Cary, DJ Starr and Jake Mulder.

"We knew when this group were freshman they had a chance to be special," said Coach Whitlock. "They have lived up to that billing. It was a good way to send them out in their last home game and give them something to be proud of."

In the first quarter, Ravenwood got out to an early lead with layups and three pointers by Starr, Mulder, Lamuno, Williams and sophomore Evan Gainer to give the Raptors a 11-5 advantage.

Ravenwood increased their margin in the second quarter with long range shots and points in the paint by Starr, Lamuno, Mollette, Gainer and Mulder to 24-13.

In the third quarter, Ravenwood continued their offensive success with baskets by

Williams, Lamuno, Starr and Mulder, widening the lead to 41-25.

The Raptors sealed the victory in the fourth quarter with behind the arc shots and layups by Starr, Lamuno, Mollette and Cary to win the Battle of the Woods, 53-38.

Ravenwood's defense forced plenty of turnovers holding Brentwood to 38 points.

"Our guys were locked in and stuck to the game plan," said Coach Whitlock. "We did a great job on the defensive glass and did not give up anything easy. When you do that, it puts you in a position to be successful."

"Honestly, we had to keep [Daniel] Cochran contained inside," said Starr. "We wanted to keep Davis [White] and Jack Brock off the three point line."

Brentwood's only scorer in double figures was senior Davis White with 10 points.

"He was aggressive and made some plays for us," said Coach Bond. "He is a competitor and a hard-nosed kid."

Ravenwood had two scorers in double figures: Starr with 15 points and Lamuno with 10.

"They were two guards that were able to get in the teeth of their defense," said Coach Whitlock. "They were able to make big plays and took advantage of what was there."

"We are a very athletic team," said Starr. "Andrew Lamuno and I are two of the quicker guards on the team. Coach tells us all the time to attack the basket and good things will happen."

Brentwood will host Summit next Tuesday.

"I hope we bounce back and play hard," said Coach Bond. "I want us to take care of the basketball. If we play like we know we can, we will be fine. We've just got to believe in ourselves and play with some swagger."

Ravenwood will travel to Centennial on Tuesday.

"Centennial is well-coached," said Coach Whitlock. "It will be a tough game because it is Senior Night there. We are going to have to go out and play our best basketball."